Brave by Default, Hero by Choice
by eeveeextreme
Summary: Four heroes travel across the land of Luxendarc to awaken the crystals, in hopes of closing the Norende chasm. Even with a brave face, the Warriors of Light have to face many struggles, both internal and external (Will contain spoilers for the entire game)
1. Prologue: Darkness

Prologue:Darkness

My hands. I stared at them in sheer horror. They were stained with blood. _Her _blood. Again I watched as her life slipped away. Again, her eyes clouded over as she was taken into death's embrace. Her lips parted slightly, as if asking, "Why?" "Why didn't you save me?" she had whispered in her final breath, a tear rolling down her cheek. Her eyes, once full of spirit; her lips, at one point moved as she spoke her many words; her cheeks, one day long ago they had a rosy glow to them. Now, her face, her beautiful, strong face, was ashen with death, her life pooled around her in a crimson lake. Why didn't I save her? Why did I cower in fear at the sight of that… that monster?!It was my fault my beloved had met such a gruesome demise.

I heard a shriek, that demon's wail, and the dissonance echoed in the surrounding darkness. Its laughter mocked me, strangling me, shaking me to my core. I lifted my face to where the sky was, but instead I saw the beast towering above me. It sneered, knowing my cowardice. It stood upon the corpses of my fallen comrades. It trampled upon the remains of my beloved. It delighted in their slaughter, rejoicing in its victory.

The fiend turned towards my wounded form. A crooked grin spread across its monstrous features. Reaching its arms skyward, it began to fabricate an orb of darkness between its terrible claws. It hurled the sphere into the ground before me. The earth shook and split apart, its gaping maw engulfing me.

I was plunged into darkness, falling for eternity. Its cackle, its mocking guffaw, resounded in my mind, telling me just how pathetic I was. I descended into darkness, swallowed by the shadows.


	2. Chapter 1: Reflections

I woke up in a cold sweat, my breaths coming out in short, rapid bursts. Damn, that nightmare again. I held my head in my hands, feeling my face wet with tears.

This wasn't the first tome I've had that nightmare, and it was surely not the last. Ever since I had woken up with no recollection of my past, I have been plagued by these nightly terrors. At first they were few and far between, the images a blurred mess of colors, most of them red. However, as time went on, as I met up with and traveled alongside my friends, these visions of death and despair frequented my sleeping hours, many I night unable to rest at all. The images have become clearer, sharper. Now I could even smell the scent of death, feel the stickiness of warm blood running between my fingers, even through my gloved hands.

The nightmares did vary, however. Sometimes the beast slew me instead of letting me fall. Usually we were on the main deck of Grandship, but other times we were at the edge of the Norende Chasm, or aboard the Eschalot.

There was one thing that never changed. In every horrid dream my companions, friends, were killed. Slaughtered. The way in which they met their demise was almost always at the hands of that monster. There were times when the scene before me had been so gruesome that I became physically ill in the waking world.

I guess I should be grateful that tonight's terrors were not as bad as they could be, but no matter how mild they may be, every horrifying nightmare shook me to my core. And, with snippets of my memories returning, I fear that they will only get worse.

I sat up quickly when I heard a soft creaking coming from the other side of the room, my muscles tense. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized it was just my friend with whom I shared the room. Once upon a time, a time that feels like it was an eternity ago, my friend, Tiz, had just been a mere shepherd boy in the sleepy village of Norende. That was until disaster struck.

It was just an ordinary day and Tiz and his younger brother, Til, were watching over their flock. Tiz had been standing beneath a tree, watching as his brother ran down the hill, weaving amongst their woolly friends. Tiz called out to Til, telling him to watch that he doesn't fall, which Til ends up doing anyway. The two share a short laugh before a large flock of birds fly overhead, cawing out in fright. A low rumble resounds beneath their feel, and suddenly a bright light bursts forth from the center of the village, the earth crumbling with the expansion of the blinding beam. Til struggled to get back on his feel, stumbling as he tried to run to his older brother. Til was just within the elder brother's reach when the ground collapsed beneath him. Tiz grabbed his brother's wrist, hanging precariously over the edge of the chasm. Tiz demands that Til gives him his other hand, but Til refuses, insisting that they would both fall at that rate. Tiz refused, swearing that, "I'm not losing you. Ever!" Yet, despite how tightly he held on, with one final quake of the ground, Tiz's grip on his brother slipped, and he watches, his eyes and heart filled with despair, as Til plummeted to his doom.

Tiz had only told me the entire in full detail once, after he himself had suffered from a nightmare. I had memorized the tale, for I had written it down in my journal, and had read it over many times.

Yes, my journal, once owned by the mysterious mister "D", at least, that's what I had called him. Now I know that he was, I was, the Dark Knight Alternis Dim.

This journal had been the only clue to my forgotten past. It was the only thing I had when I fist awoke with amnesia. However, it did not tell anything of the past, but only of the future. Or, at least, the future of the world my companions were from. I was the Alternis Dim from the world previous to theirs, so the events that were recorded had already happened in my world. But these events have already transpired in their world, too, as well as the next. We had gone through the Holy Pillar twice, or thrice for me, and we were on our way to awaken the Water Crystal for the third time. Yet, the Norende Chasm still lay open, a gaping scar in the earth.

I peered across the dark room, dimply let by the moon's glow filtering in through the windows. I could see the faint glint of Tiz's eyes in the darkness, reflecting the starlight, and I can just barely see that his brows were furrowed in concern.

"Are you alright, Ringabel?" Tiz inquired. He knew about my nightmares just as I knew of his. We kept them a secret from the others, although the girls had likely already figured it out. The oaken walls aren't soundproof, after all. Tiz and I already knew that Agnés and Edea were plagued by nightmares as well.

"I'm fine," I lied, trying to dismiss his concern with a wave of my hand, "don't worry about me."

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I was able to see my surroundings more clearly. I could now see that Tiz had raised an eyebrow, apparently not falling for my fibs.

"I'll be alright," I insisted, begins to untangle myself from the covers, "I just need some fresh air."

He still didn't look convinced, but he still lay back down as I quietly snuck out of the room.


	3. Chapter 2: Confessions

I snuck past the ladies' bedroom as quietly as possible. On a ship as old as this one, you were sure to step on a creaky board or two. I just hope I hadn't woken the rest of my companions as I had woken Tiz. Edea and Agnés needed their beauty sleep, after all.

I made my way out onto the main deck, walking over to the starboard side. I rested my arms on the railing, the nightmare replaying in my mind. The images became warped grew more gruesome, more horrifying, turning my stomach sour. I leaned forward over the side of the rail and heaved, spilling the contents of my stomach into the dark waters below.

'Blech,' I thought, wiping the bile from my mouth with my sleeve. At least no one had to see that disgusting display.

"Ringabel?"

Well, so much for that. To make matters worse, I recognized that voice to be the one that belonged to my angel, Edea. I hated for her to have to see me in such a sorry state.

"Good evening, my angel," I said, turning to face her, a forced smile upon my face. I hoped that it didn't look too fake.

"Don't act as if everything is fine, Ringabel," She growled, "And it's not 'evening' it's the middle of the night." Despite her aggravated tone, I could detect a faint sense of worry in her voice. Edea crossed her arms, looking at me in a way that told me to tell her why I was up at such a late, or perhaps early, hour. Damn, she wasn't falling for my façade, not that I had really expected it to work in the first place.

"What ever do you mean, my dear?" I replied, by voice starting to falter. I attempted to keep grinning despite the acidic tang of bile still lingering on my tongue. "I simply wished to get some fresh air and to admire the stars, although they could never rival your beauty."

"Cut the crap, Ringabel," she snapped, "do you really think I don't know what's going on, you moron?"

I gulped. Edea could be rather intimidation if she wanted to be, but an angry Edea could be downright terrifying.

"And what would that be?" I asked, pretending to act clueless. I mentally slapped myself for being dishonest with her, although Edea was likely to physically slap me soon enough.

Edea had been slowly making her way over to me and now her face was mere inches away from my own. Under normal circumstances, I would have enjoyed being this close to her. However, in this particular situation, I was cornered by an angry Edea with nowhere to escape to except into a certain patch of seawater that I would not wish to be swimming in anytime soon.

"You do it too," I sighed to myself, as quietly as possible, but Edea could probably hear me, being this close.

"What did you say?" she hissed.

"I said you hide your problems as well," I lashed back, "I do not know if you are aware, but I have noticed that, over time, you have been consuming more and more sweets."

There was the slap I was expecting.

"Are you calling me fat?" Edea demanded.

"Ow," I replied, "And no. What I'm saying is that you are consuming an excessive amount of sweets as 'comfort food', drowning your sorrows in sugar."

"You don't know what it's like!" Edea shouted, casing me to stumble in shock from her sudden outburst. "You don't what it's like having to kill those you loved, those you grew up with! You don't know the pain of having to attack your own father, being forced to defeat him because you chose to fight for your own truths and ideals rather than the ones you were raised on! You do not know what I have had to deal with, nor do you know the agony of having to go through it over and over again! You can never hope to understand my suffering, so stop sulking you stupid, self-centered bastard!"

Edea's eyes were flooded with tears, the droplets streaming down her face. Her face contorted with anger as she raised a hand as if to strike me again. As she swung her arm down I caught her by her wrist before her palm could make contact with my face.

"Maybe I do know," I growled, my voice dangerously low, scaring even myself. Despite my bitter tone, I could feel tears welling up my own eyes, threatening to spill over. I tried to blink them away; I could not show her my weakness.

"Maybe I do know," I repeated, my voice shaking," or maybe I do not. Unlike you, I do not know of any friends or family that I may or may not have had in the past. I have no past I can even speak of! For all I know, I might have killed my family or anyone who I had ever known. We never met a single person who recognized me, not one who might know who I was. Even with my memories returning, I still know next to nothing of my past. And no matter how horrible it might be, nothing is as painful is not knowing. A person is nothing if they have no past, nothing to identify themselves by. Without a past, or even a real name, I am nothing! Nothing but a stupid, lecherous, useless bastard!"

'So much for hiding my weakness', I thought as tears left wet trails down my face.

Edea just stood there, eyes wide with shock, taken aback by my anger. She was not used to this side of me. She was used to the carefree, flirtatious Ringabel, the amnesiac womanizer who occasionally offered a piece of advice or a bit of rare wisdom, relying on his mysterious journal to guide them. The Ringabel that stood before her now was a stranger. He was more like the Dark Knight Alternis Dim than her close companion. This strange man was a mess, drenched in sweat and a faint scent of bile still lingering on his breath. Who was this angry, sad, pitiful man?

I felt the muscles in Edea's arm go slack, and I released my hold on her. Her arm fell to her side, and I lowered my arm as well. Edea lifted her gaze, eyes looking into my own. Those eyes of hers were a churning sea of emotion. The anger in them was rapidly diminishing, and was replaced with other emotions. Instead, Edea gave me a look filled with sorrow, grief, guilt, and, worst of all, pity. I hated that look. I did not wish to be pitied. I was not worth it. I was a useless letch; I did not deserve anyone's pity, least of all hers.

"Don't look at me like that," I pleaded, "I am not worth pitying."

"You're a bigger idiot than I thought if you really believe that."

I lifted my head to meet Edea's eyes once more. While there were still scattered traces of sadness in them, her gaze was softer, a small grin beginning to surface.

"You aren't as worthless as you make yourself out to be," Edea began, "I mean, you're the only one who can pilot Grandship."

"I'm sure the three of you, along with Zatz and Datz, could have figured it out without me," I countered.

"Yeah, sure," Edea scoffed, "but not before we would sink to the bottom of the ocean."

"I highly doubt that," I replied, crossing my arms, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh yeah? Then tell me, who was the first one to come running to my aid when I was…when I was…." her voice trails off, sounding hesitant.

"When you were entranced and captured by Fiore DeRosa," I finished.

"Yeah, that," Edea mumbled. Neither of us had good memories of that retched, vile man.

"I'm here for you," I told Edea reassuringly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I won't ever let anyone hurt you. Never again. No one will ever take you away from me."

I embraced Edea for a brief moment, and, in the moonlight, I could see a light blush showing upon her cheeks. Once I had let her go, she opened her mouth as if to say something, but soon changed her mind, biting her lip.

"Oh, shut up, Ringabel," Edea said after a few moments of silence, affectionately punching me in the arm, "Let's go get you cleaned up." She wore a mock scowl, though I could see laughter shining in her eyes, and her tone was light.

"As you wish, milady," I replied with a bow, smiling.

Edea scoffed, rolling her eyes as she began to walk back towards the inn, with me following close behind. Even in the dim light I could see the smile upon my angel's face.


	4. Chapter 3: Understanding

My name is Edea Lee, daughter of the Templar, and right now I can't get this stupid grin off my face!

What was I even smiling for? It was just Ringabel after all. And Ringabel was a pig, a perverted womanizer; a philanderer! And yet…Argh! I just don't know why I care about that fool!

I must have expressed my frustrations aloud because, next thing I knew, the man in question was now walking alongside me, looking at me with concern.

"Are you quite alright, my dear?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I huffed, quickening my pace. Ringabel was just a friend, right? Besides, he could be practically unbearable at times! He was just a friend, nothing more. But what if... no, no, no! Bad head, stop making me think those things! But if… No! No ifs, ands, or buts! Ringabel is, and always will be, just a friend, so stop imagining those images, you stupid mind!

I was so busy shaking my head to clear my mind of those images that I forgot to watch were I was going. My foot got caught on a loose board, causing me to trip and fall. But, of course, Ringabel caught me before I hit the ground.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked again, once I had gotten back on my feet.

"Yes, I'm fine," I growled, storming ahead. I made sure to watch where I was going this time.

Thankfully, Ringabel kept is mouth shut during the remaining walk back to the inn, although he kept giving me sideways glances as we walked down the hall to the bath.

"We're here," I announced once we were in front of the door.

"Ah, yes, it seems we are," Ringabel half-whispered. Then, with a bow, he added, "Thank you for assisting me, milady."

Ugh, did he have to do that? And he talked as if he thought I was going to leave, but I wasn't budging. Ringabel stood there for a few moments, looking at me with confusion, while I simply stood there, arms folded.

"Ah, um, aren't you going to return to your room and retire for the night?" Ringabel asked.

"Nope"

He sighed."And I don't suppose there is any way I could change your mind, is there?"

"Once again, nope."

Ringabel smiled grimly, "Not even with sweets?"

"Not even that," I replied, "Besides, the Proprietress is surely asleep at this hour, and I highly doubt she'd be too happy if you used her kitchen without permission."

"Heh, I do suppose you've got me there," Ringabel admitted.

"Yup. Now, be a good boy and strip."

Ringabel's face turned a bright red, making him look like a tomato. He babbled some incoherent nonsense, and I turned my back to him, chuckling.

I sat down on the counter of the sink, and I heard Ringabel fumbling about as he tried to remove his clothing.

"Need any help?" I asked, teasing him.

"N-no, I-I'm fine, I've got it," he stuttered.

I chuckled. Oh, how I loved to tease him. Ringabel looked so cute when he was flustered. Wait, what?

Soon enough I heard the sound of clothes hitting the floor and then the squeak of the faucet and the sound of the water filling the tub. After a short while I heard the squeak of the faucet again and the running water stopped. I heard a groan as Ringabel lowered himself into the tub with a sigh, the water making a small splash.

During the next few minutes, I grew bored, and began to kick my feet back and forth. The only sound was that of the water gently sloshing about. It was too quiet and I couldn't stand it.

"Ringabel-," I began before I was cut off by a loud splash.

Startled, I jumped off of the counter, whirling around to face the source of the sound. "Ringabel, are you-."

"I'm fine," he interrupted, "you just startled me is all. I had forgotten you were still in here." Ringabel had one hand covering his now-reddened face, and the other held out infront of him, as if trying to block my view, although though the tub covered most of him, anyway.

"Oh, okay," I sighed, "that's good."

Ringabel was no longer hiding his face, and instead he sunk lower into the tub, as if trying to turn invisible, his face still flushed a bright red.

"Well, it was getting too quiet in here anyway," I commented, "Maybe we could we could talk, or something."

Ringabel looked at me blankly for a few moments, blinking. Then, giving me a questioning look, he simply states, "You're weird," before continuing his task.

"What, and you're not?" I countered, scoffing.

"Touché," Ringabel chuckled, smirking.

"At least I got you to smile," I pointed out.

"I always smile in your presence," he declared with a grin.

"Those false smiles earlier don't count," I told him.

Ringabel's smile vanished like a puff of smoke, transforming into a dejected grimace. He hung his head, sighing, "I'm sorry, I do not enjoy lying to you like that. I-I'm just so accustomed to hiding my deeper emotions, concealing my weaknesses. I just don't want to be a burden to anyone, least of all to you."

"You remind me of someone else I knew," I said.

"Alternis Dim." That's wasn't a question, that was stated as a fact.

After a few moments of silence I asked him, "It's true isn't it? You were the Dark Knight Alternis Dim."

Ringabel shook his head somberly, "Not were, I am Alternis, always have been."

"But you're Ringabel," I objected, "Just because your memories are returning doesn't automatically make you the person you were before!"

He sighed deeply, "Only for a short while longer will I really be the man known as 'Ringabel'. Once all of Alternis's, no, my memories have returned, I doubt I will really know who I am anymore."

I reflected upon my thoughts for a moment before I came to a conclusion. "Well, it doesn't matter who you were, are, or will be, because, at least to me, you have always been, and always will be, the Ringabel I know and love."

Ringabel's stared at me, his eyes widening in surprise, and I could feel my cheeks flushing hotly as I realized what I had said.

"I-I mean, like a friend! Completely platonic friendship! Nothing romantic at all! Nope, nada, not at all!" I was rambling at this point, so I highly doubt I sounded even remotely convincing. Hell, I even doubted if I was being truthful, even in my frantic state.

Abruptly, Ringabel starts cracking up. At first a small chuckle that quickly turned into a full-blown guffaw.

"Hey, quit laughing at me," I shouted, pouting.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he apologized, struggling to catch his breath. Still struggling to contain his snickering, he continues, "You're just so adorable when you are all flustered like that."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.

In control of his breathing once me, Ringabel replies with a genuine smile, "I mean just what I said, Edea."

"Oh, just can it, Ringabel," I grumbled, "This isn't the time for your casanova attitude."

"I'm being serious," he replied, his expression confirming that he was, indeed, serious. "I really do love you."

I had no idea how to respond to that, so I just stood there in shock, looking like an idiot. Then I punched him in the shoulder.

"You're going to be the death of me one day," Ringabel said, rubbing his arm where I had hit him.

"Good," I answered.

The both of us began breaking into laughter. We laughed until we were both gasping for air, giggles still bubbling to the surface every once in a while.

"Well, it seems that we've been talking for so long that the water has gone cold," Ringabel began, after we had settled down, "and I have yet to wash my back and hair. Guess I'll just have to deal with the cold."

"I could do it," I offered, "It would get the job done faster."

Ringabel was silent for a second before nodding. "Alright."

I knelt down beside the tub, Ringabel's back facing me. I poured a handful of soap onto his drenched back and began to lather it. Upon closer inspection I noticed that his back was toned and the muscles well-defined. However, I also noticed that he was covered in scars, bruises and other assorted injuries, some faded and others more recent. When my hands touched the marked areas he tensed up, as if wincing in pain. These couldn't have been from the battles we had all fought along our journey, could they?

"No, these aren't from any of the enemies we've faced," Ringabel said, interrupting my thoughts as if reading my mind, "Agnes is an excellent healer. I only have a few marks here and there from our adventure across these multiple Luxendarcs. Most of those are from, ah, before."

"Most of them?" I repeated, putting emphasis on the "most"."What of the others that weren't from before."

"Nothing you should be concerned with, my dear," he sighed, dismissing my question with a wave of his arm.

"No, I should be concerned," I insisted, grabbing his wrist. I gasped at what I saw. His arm was also covered in scars. I recognized these kinds of scars. He wasn't, he couldn't have been…

"Ringabel," I said, my voice barely a whisper, "Tell me the truth. Have- have you been harming yourself?

Ringabel bit his lip, turning his face away from me as if ashamed.

"Ringabel, please," I pleaded, "Be honest with me. I-I can't bear to not know why you're in such pain. Why have you been doing this? Please, just tell me, I'm begging you!" I could feel the tears welling up in the back of my eyes.

"It's the nightmares," Ringabel manages to choke out, "It's those damned nightmares." I had let go of his arm at this point and he was covering his face with his hands, sobbing.

"Ringabel, please, just tell me. Why are these nightmares causing you so much pain as to cause you to do this?" I continued to rub his back, more out of comfort than anything.

Ringabel takes his hands away from his face, and gazes up at the ceiling, tears streaming down his face. "Every time it's the same thing. Every night I have to watch you, Tiz, and Agnes die before me. Over and over I watch as you are slain right before my eyes. I just stand there helplessly as your life is taken away by some terrible monster. And there is nothing I can do to stop it."

"Shhh, it's alright Ringabel, we're here. I'm right here," I said, trying to comfort him, "And we always will be. But, please, you need to tell us about these things. I feel guilty for not knowing how much pain you've suffered. Please, you need to tell me when you're hurting. I'll always be there for you, like you're always there for me. Sure, you can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but you're an essential part of our team. You're our friend. And it makes me sad that you still feel as though you need to hide from us. Listen; from now on you're gonna tell me when something's wrong all right? And we'll kick those nightmares right into Mount Karka!"

Ringabel chuckled. "How can you kick something that isn't physical? I appreciate the gesture but it's not possible."

"Well, I can still try!" I declared, standing up and clenching my fists, "Ain't nothing gonna escape the power of Edea Lee!"

Ringabel shook his head, chuckling, "You really are something."

I laughed as well, "Hahha, I try."

"Anyhow," I began, sitting back down, "I really ought to finish washing your back and hair. The water must be freezing by now."

"Hahaha, well I can tolerate it for a little longer. Besides, as long as you're by my side, I'd be willing to travel to the moon and back."

"The moon?" I scoffed, as I rinsed off his back and poured water over his head to get his hair damp, "What a silly idea, traveling to the moon. How would you even do that?"

"You never know," Ringabel replied, "If Grandship can fly, maybe someday people will be able to fly to the moon someday."

"Maybe," I said as I ran the shampoo through his hair, "but still sounds silly. Why would you even want to go to the moon?"

Ringabel shrugs. "I don't know, it just seems interesting. Like, space is supposedly a vast infinite void. Yet, we don't know for sure what's really out there."

"I suppose you're right," I chuckled to myself as I began to take bunches of his platinum-blonde hair, forming the soapy locks into little ponytails.

"What are you doing?" Ringabel inquired. Oops, looks like I had been caught.

"Just playing with your hair," I explained, "Mother always messed with mine when I was little."

Ringabel chuckled, "And I vaguely remember some evil little girl who was always trying to put her adopted brother's hair into pigtails all the time."

I gave his hair a quick tug at the "evil" comment before chuckling at the memory of a young Alternis wandering the halls with his hair in several little ponytails tied with assorted colors hair bands.

"Okay, you're done," I announced once I had finished rinsing his hair.

"What, already?" Ringabel whined, "I hoped to be serviced by my angel a little longer."

"Don't make me regret doing this," I said, throwing a towel at him.

"I won't," he promised, toweling off his we hair," Although I will have to return the favor someday, Edea."

"In your dreams, Ringabel," I scoffed,"But from now on you need to tell me when you're troubled, okay?"

I faced towards the door to offer Ringabel some privacy while he finished drying off.

"Once you've finished drying off, we're heading back to our rooms," I told him.

"Can't I at least get dressed first?" he asked.

"No," I answered, "those clothes reek, Ringabel. I won't allow you to get that stench all over yourself just after you've taken a bath."

"But it's cold," Ringabel whined.

"Don't be such a baby, our rooms are right upstairs," I said, "besides. You put up with the cold bath water so you can survive a twenty second walk."

"Fine," he grumbled, leaving the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

We walked back to our rooms quietly, and the only noise breaking the silence was the creaking of the wooden boards beneath our feet.

"Hmm, how peculiar," whispered Ringabel, peering into the darkness of his room, "Tiz isn't in his bed."

"Maybe he got up to get a glass of water or something," I shrugged.

"Perhaps," Ringabel murmured in reply.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go back to my room now. See you in the morning," I said, turning away and beginning to talk a step towards my own room.

"Edea, wait," he called, grabbing my wrist, "please."

I turned back to face him again, asking, "What is it, Ringabel?"

"Stay with me," he replied.

"Ringabel, w-what-," I stammered, warmth crawling up my cheeks.

"I need your presence by my side," Ringabel whispered, "at least for little while. Please."

Oh, so that was all. "Ah, alright, just let me get something from my room."

Ringabel nodded, going into his own room, and I walked down the hall to my own. I was about to open the door when I heard voices coming from within. I listened closer and was able to detect the voices of Tiz and Agnes. Ah, so that's where he was, that sly dog. Chuckling softly to myself, I doubled back and returned to the other room and found Ringabel already dressed, well, in his drawers and a night shirt, anyway, and lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Not tired?" I asked, pulling a chair up next to the bed before sitting down.

"No, not really," Ringabel replied, "did you find what you needed?"

"Nah, it wasn't important anyway," I told him, "but I do know where Tiz ran off to."

"Oh, really? Do tell."

I jabbed my thumb in the direction of the wall that separated the girls' room from the boys'.

Ringabel raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "With Agnes, eh? I never imagined that Tiz would have ever been able to get into her bed."

"Oh, be quiet, Ringabel," I said, lightly punching his shoulder. We both laughed.

"If only this happiness could last forever," Ringabel sighed.

"Well, it can't," I replied, "without the bad times you can't properly appreciate the good times."

"Heh, I suppose you're right, Edea."

"Um, is there anything I can do to help you sleep?" I asked, "Tea, a story, maybe a song? Although I'll admit I'm not the greatest singer in the world."

"Well, there is one thing," Ringabel replied, grinning cheekily.

"I can, and will, flip this bed over if you keep that up."

"I don't doubt that," Ringabel chuckled.

I sighed, leaning my back up against the chair. "Ugh, I'm not that tired either, but we need to sleep. We've got another crystal to awaken tomorrow."

Ringabel nodded. "Yes, we all need to get a good night's rest. However, even if you do fall asleep, you aren't going to get a sufficient amount of rest in that chair."

"Well, where else do you expect me to sleep?" I huffed, "I don't want to use Tiz's bed in the off chance he does come back."

"Oh, well, you could always, um…" Ringabel began, struggling to get the words out, "you could, ah, sleep here in, uh, my bed."

"I'm gonna flip the bed."

"No, wait, please!" he protested, "I-I swear, my intentions are pure!"

"Uh-huh," I responded, still not believing him."

"B-but if you truly still doubt me," Ringabel added, "I can just sleep on the floor and let you have the bed. After all, you need your rest more than I d-"

His words were cut off as I kissed him. At first his eyes were wide with shock, but then his face softened, closing his eyes and kissing back.

"No one is sleeping on the floor," I said once we broke apart, "I'll take you up on your offer."

Ringabel seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as I got under the covers.

"But no funny business," I warned him one last time as I settled in.

"I would never dream of it, my angel."

For a second I considered pushing him out of the bed, but I was tired. I closed my eyes, allowing the comfort of sleep to surround me.


End file.
